Rajasthan Royals needed to succeed in their final two matches to have a chance of qualifying. They would have expected to win the first of those: against Deccan Chargers who had been victorious in only two matches of 14 this season, and only won once in 18 matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Instead, they were knocked out of the playoff race by a stifling spell of legspin bowling from Amit Mishra which sucked the momentum out of Royals' innings, tying them to their lowest total of the season.

After Royals chose to bat, Chargers were their usual woeful self in the Powerplay overs, putting down three catches to reprieve each of Royals' top three. Royals' highest run-scorer this season, Ajinkya Rahane, was dropped in the first over by wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, but Chargers weren't made to pay as Dale Steyn had Rahane edging to slip in the next over.

Royals have won the three games Shane Watson has fired in this season, and lost the three he failed in, highlighting how important he has become to the side's fortunes since his arrival from the West Indies. Watson, too, was given a life in the fifth over, as Shikhar Dhawan couldn't latch on to a diving effort at midwicket. On the very next delivery, Ashish Reddy let a drive from Rahul Dravid through his fingers at mid-on, conceding a boundary. The over ended with Watson blasting a straight six and Chargers demoralised.

Mishra lifted them with his first ball. It drifted in and spun away and Watson ended up playing inside the line to be bowled. The biggest wicket had been taken, and in Mishra's next over, he got another breakthrough as a quicker googly left Stuart Binny bowled and clueless. He continued to get plenty of spin through his spell, mixing in googlies with his legspinners and bowling the odd delivery from wide of the stumps to change the angle.

Even Chargers' fielding lifted after Mishra's intervention, with both the catching and ground fielding improving. Dravid's fight came to an end in the 12th over as he chopped a wide delivery to little-known Queensland batsman Chris Lynn, who nearly shelled it before grabbing it on his second effort.

The acceleration for Royals now had to come from Owais Shah, playing in place of the injured Brad Hodge. He wasn't at his most fluent today though, struggling against the accuracy of Chargers' bowling. It wasn't just that Steyn was proving unhittable, even the Indian contingent of Gony and Veer Pratap Singh kept the batsmen mostly down to singles.

Only 65 runs came in the final ten overs, which meant Chargers were in with a chance of ending Royals' chances and also their horror run at home. Shikhar Dhawan continued to be one of the bright spots of Chargers' campaign, with only Chris Gayle scoring more than him this season. He and 21-year-old Akshat Reddy added 60 in seven overs to put Chargers on course.

Midway through the innings Chargers were so relaxed that their coach Darren Lehmann and stand-in captain Cameron White were exchanging a joke in the dug-out. It wasn't a cruise to victory though as Reddy and White were dismissed in the space of seven deliveries, after which the boundaries proved elusive. Siddharth Trivedi choked the runs, giving away only 20 in four overs, and memories of the match-winning situations that Chargers have slipped from this season come back. There was no heartbreak for the fans however as Ashish Reddy slapped a couple of boundaries to finish off Royals.

dravid captains and the team fails to qualify for the next round. familiar?

shailesh
on May 19, 2012, 12:01 GMT

@bismoy: its not that Laxman did not opt to play IPL this time.. the reality is that no team picked him (even though he reduced his base price)!!!!!

shailesh
on May 19, 2012, 7:38 GMT

@Omkar Oak: RR is out of Playoffs mate. they will end up maximum on 16 points. already 4 teams have more points than that (DD, KKR, MI, CSK)..

bismoy
on May 19, 2012, 6:57 GMT

RR has played well considering fact that apart from Shane watson,no one will make to international 20-20 side of there respective team.

Fact of matter is dravid can be never be expected to win a 20-20 match on his own,He should not have played ipl like laxman.

Rahane is suprise of season in ipl5.

P
on May 19, 2012, 6:45 GMT

For the sake of Dravid, I have been cheering for RR. if this is to be his last IPL, then it will be real sad for all of us. Can a miracle happen again?

yogi
on May 19, 2012, 5:51 GMT

One of the best human being on Mother Earth is going to play his last match in Jaipur against MI. Hope they ( the Rajasthan Cricket Board) give him a proper farewell.You will always remain in our hearts. Hail Dravid. No one can fill the void created by the great Dravid.God bless us all.

yogi
on May 19, 2012, 5:44 GMT

Hard luck Dravid.In spite of losing & not qualifying for the playoffs, we are extremely proud of you. You have transformed a bunch of non entities into a pack of fighters.That you are first in the fair play table shows what a gentleman you are. In hindsight two matches against CSK , one against DD could have been won. Anyways now the pressure if off us., we can enjoy the remaining matches without tension.

Dummy4
on May 19, 2012, 5:42 GMT

Rajasthan Royals are still in with a chance .... if delhi beat Punjab , DC Beat RCB and eventually if RR beat Mumbai Indians..they have a very good chance due to their positive runrate .... all thse RR Fans u r still in it...all d best

Dummy4
on May 19, 2012, 3:16 GMT

I was so hoping that RR would reach the final four. After winning a trophy in IPL I, RRs have disappointed for 4 straight IPLs. I don't know how long I can keep supporting them. May be I'll lose interest in IPL. I am going to cheer for Gilly now. Hope they make it through to the final four. Big match tomorrow.

Dummy4
on May 20, 2012, 9:43 GMT

if royals today will win so can make playoffs

Vinod
on May 19, 2012, 16:06 GMT

dravid captains and the team fails to qualify for the next round. familiar?

shailesh
on May 19, 2012, 12:01 GMT

@bismoy: its not that Laxman did not opt to play IPL this time.. the reality is that no team picked him (even though he reduced his base price)!!!!!

shailesh
on May 19, 2012, 7:38 GMT

@Omkar Oak: RR is out of Playoffs mate. they will end up maximum on 16 points. already 4 teams have more points than that (DD, KKR, MI, CSK)..

bismoy
on May 19, 2012, 6:57 GMT

RR has played well considering fact that apart from Shane watson,no one will make to international 20-20 side of there respective team.

Fact of matter is dravid can be never be expected to win a 20-20 match on his own,He should not have played ipl like laxman.

Rahane is suprise of season in ipl5.

P
on May 19, 2012, 6:45 GMT

For the sake of Dravid, I have been cheering for RR. if this is to be his last IPL, then it will be real sad for all of us. Can a miracle happen again?

yogi
on May 19, 2012, 5:51 GMT

One of the best human being on Mother Earth is going to play his last match in Jaipur against MI. Hope they ( the Rajasthan Cricket Board) give him a proper farewell.You will always remain in our hearts. Hail Dravid. No one can fill the void created by the great Dravid.God bless us all.

yogi
on May 19, 2012, 5:44 GMT

Hard luck Dravid.In spite of losing & not qualifying for the playoffs, we are extremely proud of you. You have transformed a bunch of non entities into a pack of fighters.That you are first in the fair play table shows what a gentleman you are. In hindsight two matches against CSK , one against DD could have been won. Anyways now the pressure if off us., we can enjoy the remaining matches without tension.

Dummy4
on May 19, 2012, 5:42 GMT

Rajasthan Royals are still in with a chance .... if delhi beat Punjab , DC Beat RCB and eventually if RR beat Mumbai Indians..they have a very good chance due to their positive runrate .... all thse RR Fans u r still in it...all d best

Dummy4
on May 19, 2012, 3:16 GMT

I was so hoping that RR would reach the final four. After winning a trophy in IPL I, RRs have disappointed for 4 straight IPLs. I don't know how long I can keep supporting them. May be I'll lose interest in IPL. I am going to cheer for Gilly now. Hope they make it through to the final four. Big match tomorrow.

Vijay
on May 19, 2012, 2:19 GMT

When someone is playing for pride, they are deadly dangerous aren't they?

Satish
on May 19, 2012, 1:56 GMT

To make IPL interesting, the Teams should be divided into 2 groups: GroupA/North will have DC, Kings XI, Rajasthan, Mumbai and Group b/South will have Chennai, BLR, Deccan, Kolkata. Each team will play each other inside their division TWICE and win inside the division will give 2 points. In addition they will play ONCE with other teams in other Group, with a win netting 1 point. Group Leaders will get 1 round of Playoff as Bye & the they would get 1 & 2nd Seed. The remaining top 4 in whatever Group will play the Quarterfinal in the end advancing to play Seeded Teams and finally the Finals..

Secondly, teams will awarded an Extra point if they defeat another team by 1.5 times the run rate of the other team.

Thirdly, each team will have 1 review while batting and 1 review while Fielding. There will be only 1 Timeout of 3 minutes at the end of 10 overs. If the Batting team looses the Review, then 5 runs will be deducted and if Fielding team looses, the batting team will get 5 runs.

Srinivas
on May 19, 2012, 0:08 GMT

I've decided not to watch IPL after the murky dealings of the players, franchises and BCCI came to light recently. But for the sake of Dravid, I will watch his final match against MI. That's the last time he is going to walk onto the cricket field as a player. What a treat it has been over the years to have watched him. Very sad to say the least that I won't see him again playing any form of the game.

Dummy4
on May 18, 2012, 23:25 GMT

Should give Chandimal at least one chance. There was no comparison between Goswami and Chandimal who is an accomplished batsman and a world class wicket-keeper who has represented Sri Lanka in all three forms of the game whereas Goswami isa mere State cricket wanna- be. Chandimal has to his credit an ODI century at Lords and several scores over 50 at test level. He also kept wickets for Sri Lanka in the test series against South Africa. Having him on the bench was a waste.

Charles
on May 18, 2012, 22:30 GMT

Interesting to note that after losing to DC, RR has scored the highest runs as of date (2354), and they have NOT conceded highest runs (only 4 other teams have conceded less runs then them), and while the runs scored by them is higher than runs scored against them (2354 v/s 2239), still they are not only out of the playoffs, but standing at 3rd last position.

I was hoping against hope that they will win their last two matches. Alas, it was not to be!

Abhi
on May 18, 2012, 20:39 GMT

unlucky dravid :(
rahane seems like choker .. never delivered on big occasions .. ppl shouldnt hype him like they did for rohit sharma .. let him find his place as a match winner and not for his potential or talent

Dummy4
on May 18, 2012, 20:32 GMT

The team lead by dhoni once again depends on others performance to see their fortune.

des
on May 18, 2012, 19:39 GMT

It's good that DC finally got a win, some (not all) of their players deserve it. I still think the only thing missing from IPL is a relegation battle. Perhaps the bottom team each year should be relegated to the Bangladesh Premier League for the following year.

Dummy4
on May 18, 2012, 19:31 GMT

Alas, the DC selection gets better when their bottom-most place looks certain. Why they left out Akshat Reddy in so many games? This win came with only one extra bowler in Amit Mishra performing today despite their catch-dropping outine. I do not remember how many times DC won the toss, but batting second looked like a better idea.

abi
on May 18, 2012, 19:05 GMT

chargers are not their best, but they earned more fans for their unlucky stature.

malik
on May 18, 2012, 19:04 GMT

RR once again failed when it mattered. RR failed against DD when needing 17 in 16 balls. RR could not score 2 runs off the last ball while they were unable to stop CSK from scoring 2 off the last ball. In CSK second match also RR lost from a strong position. It is in crunch situation teams like RR have failed more often, these matches are haunting RR once again as in previous IPLs. Can we call RR chokers of IPL. Having written all that RR as a team performed better than the players available. Best of luck to RR, my favourite, in future IPLs.

Shantanu
on May 18, 2012, 18:18 GMT

Chargers have spoiled party for Rajasthan Royals. CSK must be hoping they do an encore to RCB and Delhi wins against KingsXI for them to sneak through backdoor. Chargers RCB would be an interesting Steyn Gayle duel. So its down to 4 teams fighting for 2 spots.l

Dummy4
on May 18, 2012, 18:09 GMT

well played DC... need to beat RCB...

No featured comments at the moment.

Dummy4
on May 18, 2012, 18:09 GMT

well played DC... need to beat RCB...

Shantanu
on May 18, 2012, 18:18 GMT

Chargers have spoiled party for Rajasthan Royals. CSK must be hoping they do an encore to RCB and Delhi wins against KingsXI for them to sneak through backdoor. Chargers RCB would be an interesting Steyn Gayle duel. So its down to 4 teams fighting for 2 spots.l

malik
on May 18, 2012, 19:04 GMT

RR once again failed when it mattered. RR failed against DD when needing 17 in 16 balls. RR could not score 2 runs off the last ball while they were unable to stop CSK from scoring 2 off the last ball. In CSK second match also RR lost from a strong position. It is in crunch situation teams like RR have failed more often, these matches are haunting RR once again as in previous IPLs. Can we call RR chokers of IPL. Having written all that RR as a team performed better than the players available. Best of luck to RR, my favourite, in future IPLs.

abi
on May 18, 2012, 19:05 GMT

chargers are not their best, but they earned more fans for their unlucky stature.

Dummy4
on May 18, 2012, 19:31 GMT

Alas, the DC selection gets better when their bottom-most place looks certain. Why they left out Akshat Reddy in so many games? This win came with only one extra bowler in Amit Mishra performing today despite their catch-dropping outine. I do not remember how many times DC won the toss, but batting second looked like a better idea.

des
on May 18, 2012, 19:39 GMT

It's good that DC finally got a win, some (not all) of their players deserve it. I still think the only thing missing from IPL is a relegation battle. Perhaps the bottom team each year should be relegated to the Bangladesh Premier League for the following year.

Dummy4
on May 18, 2012, 20:32 GMT

The team lead by dhoni once again depends on others performance to see their fortune.

Abhi
on May 18, 2012, 20:39 GMT

unlucky dravid :(
rahane seems like choker .. never delivered on big occasions .. ppl shouldnt hype him like they did for rohit sharma .. let him find his place as a match winner and not for his potential or talent

Charles
on May 18, 2012, 22:30 GMT

Interesting to note that after losing to DC, RR has scored the highest runs as of date (2354), and they have NOT conceded highest runs (only 4 other teams have conceded less runs then them), and while the runs scored by them is higher than runs scored against them (2354 v/s 2239), still they are not only out of the playoffs, but standing at 3rd last position.

I was hoping against hope that they will win their last two matches. Alas, it was not to be!

Dummy4
on May 18, 2012, 23:25 GMT

Should give Chandimal at least one chance. There was no comparison between Goswami and Chandimal who is an accomplished batsman and a world class wicket-keeper who has represented Sri Lanka in all three forms of the game whereas Goswami isa mere State cricket wanna- be. Chandimal has to his credit an ODI century at Lords and several scores over 50 at test level. He also kept wickets for Sri Lanka in the test series against South Africa. Having him on the bench was a waste.

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